China is asked to stamp out piracy

BEIJING – A group chiefly comprised of Japanese television stations, movie studios and record companies petitioned Chinese authorities Monday to impose administrative punishments on Internet sites selling pirated versions of their content to customers in Japan.

The Content Overseas Distribution Association hopes that such punishments will eventually lead to the closure of the websites and thus stop the inflow of pirated goods to the Japanese market.

The organization has requested that the National Copyright Association of China regulate pirated Japanese content sold in shops in the country but has not sought such regulation targeting Internet sites.

CODA expects fines and the confiscation of illegal products by Chinese authorities will eventually bring down such sites.

To make the petition, the group tracked down four Chinese websites selling illegal copies of Japanese content to customers in Japan. CODA found that their servers were located in China and that products ordered through the sites were shipped from the country. Based on this evidence and other information, CODA officials met with an NCAC official and requested that the body crack down on the sites.

Toshiharu Kirihata, head of the Japanese organization and also president of Pony Canyon Inc., a Japanese entertainment content provider, will visit the NCAC and a Chinese online video distributor early next month.